Desktop Robot Arm (Florin's design with minor modificaqtions)

thingiverse

For a long time now, I've been striving to engage my kids in the world of robotics. Arduino cars and similar toys have been collecting dust for far too long, no longer captivating their attention. I was about to begin a new project in the robot category when I stumbled upon Florin's robot arm, which genuinely inspired me to continue down this path. It's no wonder that I started with his design, professionally engineered and truly impressive. Thanks, Florin, for your outstanding work and for sharing your files with us. My goal is to take this robot further by developing it into a multifunctional arm capable of operating with grippers, pens, lasers, or engravers – anything that might spark kids' interest in learning and exploration, similar to the Dobot project. Although I'm not highly skilled in programming, I believe it's entirely feasible thanks to the support of Thingiverse community. As I built this arm, I identified a few areas for improvement and want to share my efforts with fellow enthusiasts as well. Upon discovering that 624z type bearings were scarce, I created some parts for 625z type instead. After conducting experiments, I modified the bearing seats, resulting in more stable and better-oriented bearings that no longer require glue. Simply heat up the part on your printer's hot bed at 50 degrees for several minutes, then quickly press the bearings into place. I found the original socket design with a trusted bearing to be overengineered for this robot's capacity, so I redesigned the bearing seats to utilize only two standard bearings. The modified socket works perfectly without any looseness. As admitted in the comments, the belt transmission is more precise, and I modified the gear wheels to work seamlessly with GT2 belts. In fact, you don't need O-type belts since the wheels don't run a full circle; instead, use a piece of GT2 belt tape and attach it directly to the wheel using super glue. Simply find the middle of the non-working area and glue both ends. The testing process is still ongoing, with new ideas potentially emerging later on. Please don't pay too much attention to the steppers – I used old printer motors and Arduino car motors solely for testing purposes, while awaiting the arrival of Nema17 and Mega motors. Maybe I'll leave the arm attached to the Arduino car in the future as a way to gain more freedom or simply for fun!